Big city girl moves to a one stoplight town in the midst of the high plains of Montana. Learns some stuff and then moves back to the city, still cooking up a storm.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Black Bean Soup.

You may have noticed I haven't posted a recipe in a bit. I just didn't think I could top bacon jam. I considered pulling a Costanza and going out while I was on top, but I just couldn't do it. So tonight I thought I'd share with you one of my favorite soups. It comes courtesy of my college roommate Maggie and goes well with homemade cornbread. Now Maggie was (and still is, I bet) a stickler for following a recipe. I was (and no surprise, still am not) a stickler for that sort of thing. But in her honor, I will actually write explicit directions for this soup. A word to the wise, make it in the winter. I've made it only once in the summer, the summer after college to be exact. I was living with my dear friend Anne in Milwaukee, it was over 100 degrees and we didn't have AC. I don't know what I was thinking, making soup in that kind of weather. I mean, my glasses fogged up every time I stepped out of the air-conditioned bliss of my Subaru and into the muggy, humid hell that was Milwaukee. This particular time I added way too many chili flakes and I think Annie and I killed a sixer of Leinie's Red just getting through one bowl of soup each. So here is the original recipe...

Magstar's Black Bean Soup

1 link chorizo (beef or pork, both are good)

1 medium yellow onion

2-3 garlic cloves, minced (honestly, I use 6-7)

1 green pepper, chopped (I use 2)

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (this girl uses 1-2 tsp)

1/2 tsp ground cumin (again 1-2, but really I just shake that shit in there until I think it looks good)

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp olive oil

3 c chicken broth (I have never measured this, just pour it in until it looks good...are you sensing a theme here? Maggie must have hated cooking with me.)

2 16oz cans of black beans, rinsed and drained

Cook first seven ingredients for 10 minutes. Add broth and beans and cook for another 20-30 minutes on low heat. Mash beans to thicken soup if you wish. Serve it up, garnish with cilantro, sour cream/yogurt, or cheese if you wish.

So I did write the original, but added my alterations as parenthetical asides, mostly so I could use the word parenthetical. I like big words. And good food. And leaving only one space between sentences, as old copywriting habits are hard to break. I just also think it looks good. Just like I think food should usually look as good as it taste. So make it pretty when you eat. Add a cloth napkin, or a garnish, just something that makes you appreciate what you're about to eat just a little bit more. It will taste even better. Promise.